Klimaneutrale Veranstaltung - Eine Bilanzierung der CO2-Emissionen von GroßveranstaltungenAlina Thiele

1 December 2020

This master's thesis examines the question of how a large event can be balanced with regard to its impact on the climate. Using the example of the "36th European Group for Organizational Studies Colloquium", the emissions caused by the conference are quantitatively represented and evaluated. To calculate the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents, a formula is derived. The conference pursues climate neutrality as its aim. The amount of carbon dioxide equivalents to be compensated is calculated to enable compensation through climate certificates. The emissions are divided into five areas: Catering, consumption of materials, accommodation, on-site mobility, and the event location. The result of the balancing results in a total amount of 197.49 t CO₂-equivalents. Excluding the travel of participants, the largest amount is emitted in the accommodation sector with 83.04 %, followed by the catering sector with 12.52 %. The main reasons are high consumption and high emission factors. Furthermore, the results indicate that the most effective decarbonization measures are animal-free food, energy supply from renewable energy sources, and climate-friendly transportation. In general, the climate balance of the event can be classified in the lower range, as numerous measures have already been implemented. However, a regulatory political framework and a measurement standard to provide optimal transparency in the balance are missing. This work shall contribute to close this gap. The analysis will help to implement own measures and to derive motivations for further climate-neutral events in order to create a "best practice" solution in the future.